


Face Our Fears

by TheGreatPikminZX789



Series: Return to High Lagaard [3]
Category: Etrian Odyssey Series, 新・世界樹の迷宮2 ファフニールの騎士 | Etrian Odyssey Untold 2: The Fafnir Knight
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-18 15:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17583515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatPikminZX789/pseuds/TheGreatPikminZX789
Summary: As the Yggdrasil’s deepest darkness lies in defeat, Hibiki tries opening up about her past in an attempt to move on, but the past still lingers, lying in wait to provoke terrible memories from long ago...Sequel to In the Deepest Darkness.





	1. To Run from Home

_The night sky shined elegantly at this time of the day... As a castle far away from High Lagaard stood its solitary ground. Worn, seemingly ready to break structures were strewn around and on top of the castle's walls, the huge painted glass near the castle's peak gleamed from the moon's reflection cast upon it._

_While the outside did not uphold the standards its rooms contained, it was more or less, shelter for the residents that resided within. The sound of footsteps was frantic, yet cautious... a door opened, as a Dark Hunter peers through the slightly cracked door._

_Seems like he was in the library. Despite the sparse, yet separated candles and lanterns hanging around, it was more than enough to provide light as the man entered the room. His white hair easily contrasting with the dark skin, and eyes as yellow as the sign of gold... He looked behind him, motioning someone to follow him, as he proceeded to walk slowly through the library, as if trying to recount something._

_A four legged animal entered the room, soon followed by a white haired Troubadour. Unlike most Troubadours, his eyes were the same color as the Dark Hunter that motioned him and the four legged individual into the room. Adding more to precaution, the Dark Hunter whispered to the Troubadour to close the door behind him, to which the Troubadour silently did, so as to not make any noise, before catching up with the short Dark Hunter._

"Are you sure running away is our best option, Riaels? We'd make mother and father angry at us..."  _The Troubadour inquired, as the Dark Hunter turned his head to the side, his eyes focused on the objective, yet still wanting the taller person to hear him._ "Look, Akakio... I'm tired of mother beating the shit out of us with her whip and father's relentless demands which had dire consequences if we did not succeed them."  _the man known as Riaels began, as he stopped for a brief moment to recall something in his mind, before snapping his fingers in realization, and headed up the stairs, with the animal and troubadour  following behind._

"Besides, they said something about us not leaving our room to see our sister at night... What kind of parents pull that kind of bullshit on us?"  _He continued, his voice entering a growl upon uttering the rest of his sentence._

 _Akakio gulped and twiddled with his fingers._  "S-Surely, we could convince them to let us see her-"  _He began, before the shorter brother let out a disgusted sigh, before turning to face Akakio._

"Bro, we already tried! They said she fled from home without them knowing about it, and ever since,  _we've_  become their targets of aggression. I wish they would stay nice, but that won't fucking happen..."  _Riaels muttered, trying to prevent his voice from getting any attention beyond the room they were in._

 _He turned back around, as the wolf stood beside Riaels, as if awaiting orders, before Riaels finds the bookcase and started heading towards it. The wolf and older brother followed right behind him, as Riaels quickly switches between the books, before pulling a book that had a large_ " **CLICK** " _occur upon being tilted, as the bookcase slowly opened to reveal a secret passage._

"This seems like the passageway our sister mentioned, judging by the note she left hidden for us. If things go well, we should be in the underground bay in no time..."  _Riaels spoke, motioning for his brother and wolf companion to follow him through, as he entered the passageway first._

"Come on, Tyro."  _Akakio utters, following behind Riaels as the wolf follows in pursuit of both him and the troubadour. The bookcase closes behind them as the wolf entered the passageway. The passageway before them was long, yet didn't contain much aside from well lit torches. A few stairs happen to be the only means of progressing downwards, but it was better than having to leave their wolf companion behind, or risk losing him to a jump that may prove to be fatal..._

"This is the passageway she went through to escape?"  _Akakio questioned, having not been here before._ "It was mentioned in her notes that she escaped through this particular passageway. All the other secret passages just lead to other rooms in the castle..."  _the dark hunter responded, making his way down the first flight of stairs._

 _Only the sound of footprints was heard through the long room they were in, as the two men tried to be quiet as best as they can. As they descend down the fourth flight of stairs, a straight path towards a huge tower on the side of the path beside them was seen at the end of the passage way._ "This must be the back end of the castle... Only a few guards know of this location and are set up here. If we can get past them-"  _Riaels stopped himself, thinking he heard something._

"What is it?"  _Akakio inquired, as Riaels looked behind him, trying to concentrate on the sound he heard earlier. The rampant sounds of footprints could only signal one thing..._

"...Shit. The guards are coming, come on!"  _Riaels cursed, grabbing the troubadour's left hand and started running as fast as he can, with the troubadour having a difficult time trying to keep up the dark hunter's pace, as their wolf companion, Tyro, started running behind them as well. They soon make it out onto the castle wall, running along the path before them, as adrenaline and a rush of worry came over the dark hunter, charging forward despite the danger._

"Can you stop holding onto my hand, Riaels? I can run just fine by myself!"  _Akakio asked, not sure if his younger brother heard him over the frantic breathing he had._

"Don't be stupid, Akakio! I can't afford to leave you behind for one second! Besides, those guards could shoot us at any second!"  _yelled Riaels, continuing to run forward before a mysterious attack struck the ground near the tower, nearly avoiding the attack as they turned to the right._

_A male Hexer was looking in the distance, his eyes and head following the running trio. He points to them, as if issuing an order, and the guards behind him start making their way down to the castle wall,  jumping down from atop a lookout spot to give pursuit to the fleeing members of the household. Riaels turns to see the guards from the secret passageway have joined the guards jumping from the nearby tower and lookout platform in hot pursuit._

"Damn it... Tyro, you and Akakio go on ahead! I'll see if I can do something about these guards!"  _Riaels commanded, as Tyro barks and runs ahead of the brothers. He lets go of the Troubadour's hand, letting him go onward._

"Be careful, brother!"  _Akakio shouted, before catching up with Tyro. Noticing a guard sleeping on the job, he quickly takes the gun from the guard's hand, and took out a Grimoire stone before stopping himself and turning around to analyze the pillars behind him, but just beyond the sleeping guard._

 _While the pillars themselves have gotten weak with age, it seems like a few shots will do just the trick._  "Hope you enjoy going the long way around, bitches!" yelled Riaels, as his Grimoire stone gleamed as he pulls the trigger, shooting at the four pillars in front of him to the point that bits and pieces of the roof suspended by the pillars he shot starts to collapse.

 _Grinning as if he was overjoyed at his work, he pocketed the gun and Grimoire, before following Akakio and Tyro. The pillars eventually give way, as the roof cracked into a bunch of giant rocks, slowly building up a pile that blockaded the only path forward._ "Oi, what nonsense is this?!"  _One of the guards yelled in frustration._ "Those blighters are going to escape! Everyone, start digging through!"  _one of the guards commanded._

"Hold it, private!"  _One of the guards, dressed sharper and showed his status as the colonel intervened, marching right up to the guard that suggested they start digging._  "Who do you think issues the orders around here?!"  _the colonel yelled, as the guard flinched back in surprise._

"U-Uh, t-that would be you, sir!"  _the guard replied in a panic, as the colonel leaned back and turned around._  "If we dig through, we'll lose track of them! We'll have to take the standard means of entering the bay! Move out, troops!" _the colonel ordered, as the troops did not hesitate, sprinting to their objective with due haste._

 _Riaels catches up to Tyro and Akakio, as the older Troubadour glanced him._  "I heard something collapse Riaels, what happened?"  _he inquired, as the Dark Hunter whistled at Tyro and getting the wolf to approach him._  "Took a gun and shot some weakened pillars. They weren't gonna last, anyway."  _he quickly explained, bending on his knee and stared into Tyro's eyes._

"Tyro, listen to me; I know you don't like being in water, so this descending hill at this part of the castle is the only way for you to get down to High Lagaard. It's not far from here, just follow the path once you clear the forest path straight through. When you get there, I want you to find our sister. This sketch of her from what Akakio found should be enough to get someone's attention."

 _Riaels takes out a piece of paper, and shows it to Tyro, as the wolf turns his head a few times._ "Got it memorized, boy?"  _he queried, as the wolf barks and wags his tail._ "Good. I'll place this sketch in an envelope attached to your collar."

_Riaels takes out Tyro's collar, placing it around the wolf's neck, and placed the sketch in the envelope, petting Tyro's head after sealing it._

"We'll be there soon, Tyro. Keep our sister well guarded until then, got it?"  _Tyro nods, letting Riaels help him get onto the hill._ "Now, get going, we'll see you in High Lagaard!"  _Riaels commanded, as the wolf barked back before making its way downhill._

"Are you sure it's a good idea to separate him from us?"  _Akakio questioned, as Riaels stood up._ "It's better than having a drowning Beast companion on our hands. We know he can't swim well..."  _sighed Riaels._

"Now come on, we have to hurry, or the guards will cut off our escape!"  _he continued, not stopping for a single second. The troubadour followed suit, coming across a seemingly abandoned tower with a ladder going down somewhere._

"This will be our shortcut to the bay. Because for some reason, they decided a maze inside the castle near the bay would be a wonderful idea..."  _Riaels groaned upon questioning why a maze to the bay would be suitable when entering or leaving the bay. Akakio nodded._  "Got it..."

_The Dark Hunter starts making his descent down the ladder. Akakio gives him a couple of seconds before he starts climbing down too. As Riaels lands on the dusty ground, he quickly heads to open the hidden door, opening the way to the bay for him and Akakio, while blocking off the main passageway to the same destination._

"That ought to cause a problem for the guards while we prepare to set sail."  _Riaels chuckles to himself, letting Akakio pass by him to open the door to the bay. Closing the door behind him, Riaels locks the door to make it even harder on the guards' end to give chase to them._

 _Akakio sighed in relief._  "Good, there's a boat left. It should be sturdy enough to get us to Lagaard."  _he noted, placing his beloved violin around his neck and getting onto the boat, grabbing the oar beside him. He glanced at Riaels grabbing some food from the nearby cabinet._

"Hurry up, Riaels! The guards could be here at any second!"  _The troubadour yelled, causing the dark hunter to jump in surprise._ "I'm sorry, it never hurts to have rations to store for our trip to Lagaard!"  _he apologized, quickly stuffing the food in his bag before placing it on his person and removed the rope from the wooden pole, and got onto the boat._

_Riaels grabbed the other oar as the two started rowing for their lives, trying to find the perfect sync to get them as far away from the bay as possible. As they make progress, they both hear the door being bashed against, echoing through the chamber._

"They're already at the door?!"  _spoke a surprised Akakio, as Riaels gritted his teeth._  "Shit... row faster!"  _the dark hunter issued, the troubadour nodding in agreement._ "G-Got it!"

 _The two of them rowed faster from their previous pace, not stopping until were got out of sight from the bay, hearing the bashing of the door get quieter and quieter..._  "Good... we've lost them..."  _Riaels sighed, nearly exhausted from all the adrenaline he had been feeling._

"It's a good thing this was the only boat on board... those guards can't swim for shit."  _he continued, placing his oar inside the boat, as Akakio did the same._  "I hear you... swimming while also fighting tends to have no great benefits, especially in the labyrinth..."  _the troubadour chatted, as Riaels raised an eyebrow._

"The labyrinth...?"  _Riaels questioned, as the older brother blinked in surprise._  "Y-You NEVER heard of the great tree that is Yggdrasil?! The giant tree that lives right beside High Lagaard?"  _Akakio gasped, leaving the dark hunter to blink in return._

"How should I know what a giant tree is named after? Especially with us getting abused, I never would've had the opportunity to known that such a thing exists..."  _Riaels sighed, placing his bag next to him, taking out the food that he stole._

"Might as well have these to help replenish our strength. We're gonna need to search every inch of High Lagaard to find our sister."  _Riaels began, lending some of the food to Akakio._  "Then what?" _the white haired troubadour inquired, seeing the dark hunter's eyes shift and placing a finger on his chin, feeling rather quiet for what seemed like an eternity._

"...Hopefully live out the rest of our lives in peace with her. That's about as much as I wanted to accomplish."  _he finally replied, grabbing one of the food next to him, unwrapped the foil, then started eating._

"I heard that here's some floating castle up above the Yggdrasil... Do you think she might be up there?"  _Akakio inquired, starting to eat the slab of meat in his hand._

"Pfft, I doubt it."  _Riaels dismissed, doubting their sister would abandon the castle she used to live in just to live in one above a giant tree. Though he probably also dismissed the floating castle segment of his brother's sentence._

"Well, can we at least conquer the Yggdrasil as we desperately hope to find her-"  _the troubadour started, before he saw his younger brother raise a finger to his mouth to silence him._ "She's not going to be in the Yggdrasil, Akakio! I doubt she would live in a dangerous place such as that..."  _Riaels disputed, simply ending the conversation right then and there as he focused on the food in his lap._

_They soon make it out of the castle's underground chamber, as trees of varying shapes now surrounded the river that is carrying them to their destination. Despite the calming nature of the riverside, one must never underestimate the signs of nature, for they can be quite as deadly as monsters themselves. The boys were in no rush, enjoying the food until they had their fill. The dark hunter decided to help speed the process by rowing the boat himself, grabbing the oars and sat in the middle, looking forward as he attempted to find the right pace to move the boat faster._

_Akakio, with nothing else to do but wait and be on the lookout, decided to start another conversation._  "I can't help but ponder why our mother just doesn't want us to see our sister..."  _he began, crossing his arms in contemplation._

"I've personally never seen her, you've only seen her once by sheer coincidence..."  _Riaels clarified, as he had never seen their sister once in his life. He didn't even believe Akakio because he didn't want to act out of line back then._

"But ever since she left, that memory has been beaten out of me... It hurts, you know?"  _Akakio sighed, looking up at the night sky._

"Getting hurt by a whip always hurts-"  _the dark hunter began, before being cut off by the older sibling._  "No, not that... the pain of losing someone you never knew... yet you feel you're connected to each other, somehow. It hurts, having that happen to me..." _Akakio explained, letting out a regretful sigh._

"...I see. I guess I can see why becoming a Dark Hunter just wasn't your forte."  _Riaels concluded, turning the boat so it followed the river's current to the left._  "I really missed hearing father's smooth singing voice... He said he was off to explore, but never came back."

 _Riaels wondered, as the older sibling looked back at him._  "And when we thought he returned, an elder War Magus told us and mother that our father had passed away. Next thing we knew, he was our replacement for a father..."  _Akakio added, as he soon glanced at the river's reflection._

"I can see why mother didn't want to re-enter a marriage like that, but I personally feel like there's more to this than we don't know about..."  _Riaels considered,_  "Because not only do we have a father to find, we also need to find our sister..."

 _Akakio took a deep breath before he sighed._  "I suppose so... It's not gonna be easy, but I'm supporting you all the way, dear brother. And we have Tyro by our side."  _He commented, seeing the dark hunter nod in the corner of his eye._

 _As time flew by, the sky soon started to change color, as the sun starts to rise. Although the Troubadour has a hard time seeing it, he knows that morning is about to arrive very soon._  "The sun is lookin' miiiighty fine today~"  _Akakio beamed, as the younger sibling looked at him._

"But it's only six in the morning, Akakio, of course the sun would come up at this time of day."  _Riaels jested, before looking to his side, and blinked in surprise at what he saw._ "Ho...ly..."  _he stuttered, getting the troubadour's attention to look towards him, but then looked at what he saw._

 _There it was. The giant tree known as Yggdrasil stood ever tall on the city of Lagaard, as both males stood up in amazement._ "That, my brother, is the famed tree of legend; the Yggdrasil! And what do you know, it looks like we're almost close to our destination!" He pointed out, as Riaels looked at where his older brother was pointing at.

 _The town of Lagaard was just in sight! All they had to do is park the boat over to the nearest portion of land or a dock, and they were home free!_  "We're... gonna make it! I can't believe we're gonna make it!"  _Riaels stammered, almost thinking that this was all a dream..._

"Yeehaaaw! This calls for a celebration song!"  _Akakio cheered, taking out his violin and started strumming the strings on it._

"Heeeeere we are, only a few miles, from the tree known as Yggdrasil, off to find our sister that we don't know much about, and off to find our father too~"  _He sung, continuing to play his violin, before a sudden attack hitting the water and the land to the left of the troubadour caused him to stop in his tracks._  "Aaagh!"  _He grunted, trying to stay firm on the boat as Riaels rushed to his side._

"Akakio, are you alright?!"  _The older sibling nodded._  "I'm fine, but I think somebody's trying to stop us..."  _Akakio wondered, as the two siblings started looking around._

"From out HERE?! But I thought-"  _Riaels questioned, not seeing a single person in sight. Getting the feeling he was watched, he turned to see what was in front of the boat, gasping as he saw a male Hexer floating over the water, seemingly going at a slow pace to keep ahead of the boat. Akakio soon noticed, and let out a little shriek._

"O-Okay, that's new!"  _The troubadour exclaimed, having never seen that kind of thing occur before._  "The hell are you supposed to be?"  _Riaels questioned._

 _No response. Riaels gritted his teeth, almost to the point he was making a snarl._ "Gonna play THAT kind of game, eh?!"  _Riaels inquired, quickly getting his gun and Grimoire stone out, shooting a few fire rounds at the Hexer._

 _Something on the Hexer gleams as the elemental bullets dissipate upon hitting the Hexer, leaving both the dark hunter and troubadour surprised._  "What the hell?!"  _Riaels yelled, blinking to make sure he didn't just miss his shots._

"Was that a Grimoire stone he just used?!"  _Akakio questioned, as Riaels tries using some ice rounds for the second attempt. Same thing happened with the fire elemental bullets..._

"The shadows grow, and you have no hope..."  _The male Hexer finally spoke, his voice sounding rather perplexing and confusing._  "Huh?"  _Riaels uttered to himself._

"What do you mean by that?"  _Akakio inquired, as the hexer turns his head to face him._  "You will break, you will quake, at the things I know..."  _Now he was just starting to sound mysterious and foreboding. And being this far out from land might prove to be an issue._

"Enough of this nonsense!" _Riaels aimed the gun at the Hexer again._  "Wait, brother!"  _the older sibling yelled, moving the gun's trajectory out of  but the troubadour moved the gun away from the hexer._

"What are you doing, Akakio?!"  _the young sibling questioned, looking at his brother with anger on his face._  "If he knows our sister and father, he can tell us where they are in Lagaard!"  _Akakio insisted, looking at the hexer without hesitation._

"Please Mr. Hexer, can you please tell us where our sister and father is?!"  _He asked, as the Hexer gave him the silent treatment for a couple of seconds, before an eerie smirk appeared on his face._  "You who look, but are blind to see..."  _He began, as Riaels growls and aims the gun at the hexer once more, the older sibling not noticing him doing so as his attention was fixed on the hexer before him._

"Stare into the abyss..."  _The hexer raised his hand above him as a giant orb of light forms above it._  "I think he's more interested in killing us more than giving out information, Akakio!"  _Riaels declared, the older sibling looking back at him._

"I just thought I'd ask!"  _He insisted, turning back to face the Hexer with his violin in hand._  "Time to end this show..."  _The man spoke, as he revealed a Grimoire stone clutched between his fingers, letting the ball of light fire right at the boys._

_Riaels shoots the ball of light, seeming to stop the attack, before it divulges into a flurry of light beams. He then tries shooting those back, but as he ends up getting hit by one of the beams, the other beams start utterly annihilating the boat, and an explosion under the water caused the boys to be launched into the air, before plummeting to the water's depths. The Hexer retracted his hand into his robe, making absolute sure that they did not survive. Even if they did, they'll drown before they can make it to land. Believing his mission to be done, he takes out an Ariadine Thread, using it to make his exit._


	2. Hibiki's Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares born from the void, tend to stay in the void. But upon further thinking, perhaps these nightmares might be a sign of her past fast approaching... While one man searches for a way to null these nightmares, one may see them as an opportunity to protect those whose bonds are close to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going a bit experimental with this chapter, as I decided to research some Gemstone properties. Of course the moment I wanted to show off some of the knowledge I have of it, of course I turn it into something else, but that’s how things sometimes go when you write stories. Just turns out a lot different than you expected it to be.

_Darkness. Nothingness... To many, the feeling is unsettling, yet familiar to all who are dead. A place not many visit in their dreams, yet something in the air tells the Forest Princess that this place is not like the past forms of nightmares that plagued her ever since the defeat of the deepest darkness._

"Whither am I?"  _She mumbled to herself, seeing nothing but black all around her. She tried extending a hand to feel for any walls._

_But there were none._

_Was it a never ending hall without a single wall to fill it in, regardless of its color? It was hard to determine. She was standing on what she assumed is the floor, so there has to be walls somewhere._

_It was worrying her. This couldn't have been a dream, because then she would not be in this situation. Who knows if it's even considered a nightmare..._

"Someone! Anyone, please heareth mine voice!"  _She screamed into the abyss-like world. The echoing of her voice didn't help ease her calm down one bit..._

_But nobody came._

_Hibiki was loosing hope of finding out what was going on. This feeling was reminding her of a place she wished she hadn't come to... Something only she remembered being a child, someone kidnapping her from a land she does not vaguely remember, seeing the stormy clouds once gather around a particular region._ _It was starting to remind her of the castle she had desperately came to hate..._

_Silence. It was a sound most comfortable to the Princess, yet also the sound of fear itself. Anything at any moment could strike fear in her heart... The thought is just too much to bear, as the Forest Princess clutched her arms and closed her eyes, wanting this to be over with._

_She was struggling to keep herself from crying. Ever since she was locked up in a castle, all she ever did was clean, and eat. If one tiny thing was wrong, or something wasn't done in time, she got punished for it with several strikes of a whip. There was no way this could be the castle..._

_It was her worst nightmare._

"...un... ki..."  _A mysterious voice spoke up after what felt like an eternity. The girl looked up and looked everywhere for the source of the voice that spoke._

"W-Who's thither?!"  _She exclaimed, demanding an answer from the voice._  "R... Hi..."  _The voice responded, dodging the question she asked of it. Though it feels as if the voice wasn't speaking with malice..._

"Run... He's coming..."  _The voice spoke louder than before, almost as if whatever it was afraid of was around the corner._

_Faster than Hibiki could inquire the voice a question, an explosion knocks her to the side, quickly getting up to find the source of the attack._

_She gasps upon seeing a Hexer, garbed in dark blue robes. The robes were moving around, as if they had a mind of an animal. Simply seeing the smirk on the Hexer's face brought fear in her heart._

"I can see... You didn't  _miss_  me..."  _The Hexer spoke up, letting himself be carried by the robes he wore as he approached Hibiki._ "D-Don’t approach me any further, fiend!"  _She warned the approaching man, simply ignoring her words as his robes prepared to attack._

_She dodges the attack from the robe, sprinting away from the Hexer. The Hexer lost his smirk, taking out a Grimoire and started launching some attacks from afar. Some of them miss, and some of them hit her, yet despite being knocked further away, she still had enough time to get up and continue running before the Hexer could grab her, despite the bruises she now bared..._

"The land from which you came bears no truth to you, anymore. Best to forget about that place, and live in the abyss..."  _The mysterious Hexer spoke up, as Hibiki tried her best to ignore his words. Her heart told her to keep running, to not let herself be captured by the mysterious man._

_The attacks became less frequent the further she was away from him, finally seeing a door at long last. She had to hide, even if it was only temporary. Hibiki opened the door and locked it behind her, resting her head against the brick wall, looking around as she took a few deep breaths._

_It was... familiar. She recalled having used the bay of the castle to escape, as everyone else was rather unaware of her escape. She wasn't sure what was even happening anymore._

"Hibiki, come on!"  _A male's voice spoke to the Forest Girl, turning her head to the voice that spoke out to her. Her eyes shrunk in surprise, upon seeing who was speaking to her. A male Troubadour and a Dark Hunter... They couldn't be..._

"Get on, Hibiki! Don’t let him catch you!"  _The Dark Hunter urged, extending a hand. Deciding not to risk staying there, Hibiki attempts to run to the Dark Hunter._

"Don't think so." _A voice called out, causing an explosion right in front of Hibiki, causing some propulsion to cause the boat the two boys were on to move, causing the Dark Hunter to fall on his rear in surprise._

"No! Please, return to me!"  _She yelled, trying to reach out for the boat that was moving on its own._

"We’ll meet up in High Lagaard!"  _The Troubadour exclaimed, hoping his voice reached the Forest Princess._  "Stay strong, Hibiki!"  _The Dark Hunter added, the distance between them getting further and further._

_The boys were familiar to her. There was no mistaking it. But it felt like she wasn't getting anywhere just trying to reach out for them..._

_Her thinking was cut short by the robes of the Hexer she ran from wrapped itself around her neck, catching her off guard, as the Hexer approached to the side of her vision. Hibiki desperately struggled to break free from the robe's grasp on her. The robe lifted her off of the ground, causing her to struggle even more._

"You can’t stop what has begun, Forest Girl..."  _The hexer grinned, before he busts into a maniacal laughter, laughing at Hibiki's miserable attempt of breaking free. Every movement of her body was getting her nowhere closer to being free..._

"...iki..."  _A voice called to her, while the Hexer still laughed at her efforts. Her struggles only continued from there, before feeling the robes tighten around her neck, gritting her eyes in pain._

"...biki! ...ke up!"  _The voice called out again, coming to her louder than before. The mix of the two voices before her was getting too confusing for her._  "Aaaaaaagh!"

_Hibiki opened her eyes as she jolted from her sleep, feeling a pair of hands wrap around her in an attempt to comfort her._ "Hibiki, are you alright?!"  _Korey's voice reached her ears much more clearer, turning to see the worry in the Highlander's face._

_Hibiki started feeling tears drop from her eyes, resting her head on his chest._  "Another nightmare cameth to plague me from mine slumber..."  _She replied, trying to wipe the tears away from her eyes._

"I'm sorry you had to have these streaks of nightmares, Hibiki..."  _Korey uttered, rubbing her shoulder in reassurance of his comfort._  "If I may be bold to ask, will talking about it get it out of your system? You were adamant about not telling me the past four nightmares..."  _He queried, noting the past times she didn't want him to worry about her about speaking her nightmares._

"W-Well,"  _Hibiki started, sitting upwards so he can hear her better._  "I was told to run by someone, ere a Hexer hath appeared out of nowhere and started attacking me, forcing me to run for mine life. Then, I saw two men on a boat, calling to me to get on it..."

_Korey gazed to the sheets, seeming to think about the events she told him thus far._  "One of those folk wast a Dark Hunter, and the other was a Troubadour... those gents both wast urging me to get on, ere that foul Hexer intervened, and... And..."  _Hibiki continued, wiping a few more tears trying to emerge from her eyes._

"I was losing air due to the Hexer's robes. I hath felt like mine life wast ending ere my eyes..."  _Korey's arms continued to rub Hibiki's arm, reassuring her that it was all just a nightmare._

_Though he wasn't sure how to respond, he needed to calm her down somehow. Without wasting any time, he began humming a song. The Forest Princess stared up at him in confusion, though recognizing the song she heard him hum._

"What art thou doing?"  _She inquired, stopping the Highlander in his tracks._ "Doing something that helped my little sister when we were exploring Yggdrasil. If she wasn’t able to sleep, we would hum a song and it’d wear her down to the point of being tired."  _He explained, scratching the back of his head with his free hand._

"I apologize if its awkward, it's just the only thing I could do to calm you down..."  _Korey sighed, before feeling Hibiki nudge against his chest._ "No, please, keepeth going... that song thou art humming is reminding me of a song that Troubadour hath used to playeth..."

_Korey let out a sigh of relief, as he proceeds to continue to hum the song from where he left off. The girl in his arms soon grew a smile, starting to hum along to him. Hibiki then started to recall the song being sung by the Troubadour she had seen in her nightmare._

_She recalled hearing his voice for the first time as he started playing the violin in the castle she was in, beyond the walls of her confinement. He only got to hear his name once after he had introduce himself to her, despite the two of them not being able to meet in person. Almost every night on, he snuck down and sang her some songs he knew, doing so for a couple of months before things changed around the castle..._

_It was her only salvation... her light of hope to see the world outside her confinement._ "Just because there are people with evil hearts, doesn't mean all of humanity is like that."  _Hibiki recalled the Troubadour's voice from long ago._

"There will be a time where you'll be cared for by people who legitimately care for you. People who will set you free from this wretched ensemble."  _The voice in her head replayed, seeming to bring her great comfort. Her eyes slowly started to close, feeling tuckered out from humming the all-too-familiar song._

_Korey continues for a little longer, seeing the girl in his arms slowly smiling as she drifts back to sleep. He gently lays her down on the bed and pulls the sheet over her, rubbing his hand on her head for a few seconds as he stops humming the song, satisfied with his result._

"Never fails to work..."  _He hummed to himself, peaking at the window and seeing the sun come through the curtains. The Highlander gets up and closes the curtains so that Hibiki doesn't get blinded by the morning light, soon standing beside a table in the room, placing a finger on his chin as he was left to ponder what to do next._

"How many nightmares will Hibiki go through before it gets too much for her? If her past was really that rough, surely there must be some way for her to forget such a past..."  _Korey mumbled to himself, gazing back at the sleeping Forest Princess, who turns to face the wall in her sleep._

_He can't just remain idly by any longer. If he was able to calm his sister through song, there must be a way to keep nightmares away from Hibiki... The thought of having too many nightmares occur one after another can potentially lead her into madness. Or hell, even worse..._

"Perhaps a visit to the library will get me somewhere. Maybe get Simon and Lynus to help me out..."  _The brown haired Harbinger uttered to himself, grabbing his stuff with him and slowly closed the door behind him._

_Thankfully, hardly anyone else was awake yet, allowing him to go through the lobby in peace. Exiting the inn, he asked a nearby explorer where the library would be. The explorer gave the Highlander some directions, as he thanks them before wishing them a good day._

_The library he entered wasn't that huge as Simon proclaimed the Midgard Library was, but seeing books everywhere reminded him of a guild house with a huge library... He took his time strolling through the isles, skimming through titles and picking some books that held interesting titles that stood out to his eyes._

_He soon found a book with a rather interesting title._  "Healing Properties of Gemstones, huh?"  _Korey read, raising an eyebrow as he took the book off the shelf._

_He had to think on that title for a while as he sat down at a nearby table. Other than to look pretty, do gemstones really have those types of properties? Was it even possible?_

_There was no point in arguing with himself about the potential answer. He wasn't going to get anywhere with that mindset._  "I suppose I should make notes of what I found. Simon and Lynus are probably busy, so I hope I can ask them for advice when I get the opportunity."

_With his goal set in stone, Korey takes out a few pieces of paper, and a bottle of ink, along with a feather, placing them beside the sheets of paper. He begins flipping through the books, taking his time to look at the information contained with each book, writing notes on things he finds interesting, or ones that will most likely help._ _Lapis, Hematite, basically anything he can find relating to nightmares._

_He had to make sure to look back in previous books about the effects of the gemstones he written, but ended up with either vague answers, or other written details about their appearance and worth in Ental._

"Man, some of these are really good, but not all of them might be available in Lagaard, Yggdrasil, or Ginnungagap..."  _Korey grumbled, trying to recall if any of the stones he written could be available in the places he specified._ "It's a good thing Lynus and the others are willing to help out if needed. Hibiki's safety is becoming a top priority on my list of things to do."

_Korey closes the book he was on, wasting a few more minutes reading up on the gemstones and making sure he's written everything he needed to know before concluding his research in the library. He placed the notes he written in an easy to reach area of his bag, and placed each of the books he picked up back on the shelves he found them in, before leaving the library._

_As he made his way back over to the inn, Korey came to a halt as he turned to see an orange-haired medic trying to tend to some unconscious explorers. A Dark Hunter and... a Troubadour. Where those the two people Hibiki spoke about earlier?_

_He had to make sure. Cause even if those two were the classes Hibiki mentioned, the names of the explorers were important to know. The Highlander approached Lynus, doing his best not to startle the Medic._

"Lynus, what’s going on here?"  _He asked, as the Medic quickly turned to face the Highlander kneeling beside the dark hunter._  "I found these guys floating on the water near here when I was on my way back from the hospital. They seemed so wounded, so I’m trying to keep them stable for the moment."

_The Highlander looked over the injuries that Lynus had healed, picking up a rather wet violin that likely belonged to the troubadour, checking to make sure it was still playable before placing it right beside the troubadour._

"I don't think any river from Yggdrasil might have carried them here. Especially not on the higher stratums."  _Korey mumbled to himself, getting up after glancing over the two boys._

"Oi, what are you bloody idiots doing?!"  _A voice called out, getting Lynus and Korey's attention to see a blue-haired Landsknecht wielding a sword approaching them. Korey turned to face him, not liking where this might be going._

"Hands off my prey, you snobby medic!"  _The landsknecht yelled, causing Lynus to flinch from the way he yelled at him._  "Hey, jerkwad!"  _Korey called out, diverting the landsknecht's eyes towards the Highlander._  "Nobody calls the Miracle Medic a snob and gets away with it!"

_The landsknecht simply scoffed at Korey, clearly not seeing him that worthy enough of an opponent._  "Pheh, and just who the hell are you supposed to be, some kind of Protector? You don’t even fit that role to a T!"

_Oh can he fit a protector's role, alright. He just doesn't need a shield to do the protecting._

"I am Korey, part of the Highlander tribe! If you think you’re such talk, why don’t you just beat it before I strike you down?"  _Korey challenged, causing the landsknecht to growl in annoyance._

"Such arrogance from such a child. Hiyaaah!"  _The Landsknecht charges at Lynus, stopping short due to a quick stab of the Highlander's spear at his leg, causing him to come to a halt as Korey quickly steps in front of Lynus._

_Just gotta keep this punk busy til Axel arrives..._

"Outta my way, you punk!"  _The man growled, poised to strike with his sword at any moment._ _Korey trades his spear for the Ragnarok sword, alongside a Grimoire Stone made by Fafnir._

"Taste Flame Sabre!"  _He yelled, slashing at the landsknecht and causing him to flinch back, due to the hot metal the sword had been enchanted with from the Grimoire Stone. That did a bit of damage on the landsknecht's armor._

"The hell is this nonsense? A spear and a sword simultaneously?! That’s downright cheap!"  _The landsknecht ranted._

"Says the man whose class allows him to switch between a Sword and an Axe to use different skills. At least I have the excuse of using a sword because of a Grimoire!"  _Korey argued, making his way towards the opposing landsknecht._

"Grimoire or no, that’s still considered cheating!"  _The blue-haired landsknecht yelled, as they clash swords once again. Their weapons kept clashing against the other as they fought for a while._

_Lynus, meanwhile, tended to the wounds of the two boys before him. It was the least he had to do, for the moment. He was sure that things would be better for the situation they're in, as long as Korey didn't fall to the opposing landsknecht._

_Korey grunts, wiping some blood off of his cheek, staring the landsknecht down as the blue-haired man gets up, using his sword as a crutch._ "Ugh, why are you so damn stubborn?! Are you his boyfriend or something?!"

"No, that’d be  _me_  you’re referring to!"

_A swift punch to the landsknecht's face was made, causing him to fall to the ground, as both Korey and Lynus easily recognize Axel's red hair. Axel picked up the landsknecht by the throat, raising him up from the ground._  "I’m giving you to the count of ten to get the hell out of my sight."

_He lets go of the landsknecht, as the blue-haired Landsknecht grabs his weapon and starts making his way away from the red haired landsknecht, before turning to them when he was a good distance away._  "This isn’t over yet, you damn fools. We will find you, and we will make you pay for this!"

_With that threat in mind, he rushes off, finally out of Axel's sight. He walked over to the two boys, scratching his head in confusion._  "What the hell was that guy's problem?"  _He queried, wondering what got that landsknecht in a hussy fit._

_The Highlander shrugged as he placed his weapon away._  "He just seemed very angry that Lynus was tending to these guys here. Hell, now that I think about it, he didn’t even give me a name to go off of..."  _Korey explained._

"Regardless, the good news is that I'm safe, and not injured."  _Lynus chimed in, hearing Axel sigh a breath of relief._  "I've managed to stop their wounds, but I'd still like to take these guys back to the hospital so they can recover a bit better without that landsknecht undoing all of my work."  _He continued, picking up the male troubadour's violin._

"There may be the possibility that landsknecht will come back here with more people with him if we stay out here too long. Korey, I'll take the dark hunter, you take the troubadour."  _Axel discussed, as the Highlander nods and picks up the boy he was expected to carry._

_For some reason, he felt extremely light. Did the troubadour not get much to eat, or something? Axel picked up the dark hunter, holding tight to it in case the unconscious boy wakes up as they were on their way to the hospital._

_Lynus grabbed his bag, then proceeded to guide Axel and Korey to the hospital. It took a couple of minutes, but they were lucky the lansknecht from earlier didn't come back during the time they picked up the bodies. The crowd of explorers should provide some cover as entered the clinic, placing the two boys on two separate beds before sitting out in the lobby of the clinic._

_Having to wait was a pain, but it was understandable why they needed to do so. Waiting for Lynus to make sure they were properly breathing was the least he can do, and that may take some time due to whatever injuries the two boys he and Axel dragged in suffered from. He also needed to know the names of those boys to see if they were the people HIbiki mentioned in her nightmare._

_Speaking of Hibiki, he took out the notes he had and started to read the information he had written about the gemstones he had written about earlier. Axel took a glance at the notes, the Highlander totally unaware of him._ "Are those notes about gemstones?"

_Korey blinked, his eyes gazing at Axel for a couple of seconds before nodding as he turned back to face the notes he written._  "I recently visited the library in search of gemstones that can help quell nightmares, or at least minimize it. I came across a few names, though the books shared minor details of the gemstone’s property."  _He discussed, flipping the pages between some interesting gemstones he came across in his research._

"Having nightmares suck, as they can cause more worry than needed..."  _Axel groaned, not liking the sound of where this conversation might be going._ "Especially for Hibiki. For her to have nightmares for almost for an entire week worries me to no end."

_Korey sighed, feeling like he might have done this research for naught... A touch of Axel's hand reassured the Highlander that he and Lynus were there to help him out._  "Maybe once Lynus is done, we’ll ask him about the gemstone you wish to find."  _Axel suggested, giving the Highlander a reassuring smile._

_The Highlander's face grew a smirk._  "Thanks, Axel."  _He thanked, feeling the red haired landsknecht pat his back in response._

"Heh, don’t mention it. The least I can do for you after I punched that damn Landsknecht in the face."  _Axel chuckled. He knew he was too good that his punches can simply end a fight on its own._

_Though Korey might just miss Axel when he prepares to head to the next Yggdrasil..._

.....................................................................

_It had been almost two hours since Hibiki had gotten some sleep, yet here she is, standing outside the inn. She wore the handmade cloak Hamza made for her, which she held onto tightly to make sure the wind didn't blow it away. It had been some time since she felt this at peace ever since the deepest darkness, Ur-Devil, was slayed by the Gungnir Guild, with the co-operation of the Guardians._

_Ever since, she has joined their ranks as a guild member, and has slowly, but surely, told them about her past, as Lynus recommended that to be her course of action. If she spoke too much about it at once, she would break down in tears. Though her mind was focused on the nightmare that plagued her this morning._

_That Hexer was no ordinary Hexer. His pressense would make anyone shiver in fear. The robes of his weren't natural ether. Though that may have been due to the fact that it was a nightmare, it wouldn't have made sense it'd react that same way in reality._

_She placed her hand where her heart is, as she thought back to the two boys within her dream. They were familiar, cause she at least saw one of them, and heard the voice of another, along with his name. Hibiki felt like she had a connection to them. If only she could protect them from whatever that nightmare was trying to tell her..._

_The brown skin of that Dark Hunter... The white hair of that Troubadour, his wonderful singing voice, and his name... They were the only key to being reunited with them, as they told to her in her nightmare._

"Nice day today, isn’t it? The weather’s just perfect for another day of exploring."  _Flavio's voice surprised her, sharply turning to face the Survivalist, placing his hands on the railing, before regaining her composure and faced back the way she originally faced._

"Forsooth tis, man."  _She responded, getting an eyebrow raised from Flavio._ "I have no idea what that means, but I assume it’s something nice."

_Hibiki could only sigh. The Highlander was more akin to hearing her kind's language, but clearly Flavio still had a bit of trouble understanding her._  "Of course it’s something nice. Thou just needeth to hark harder to my words, man."

"Alright, alright, no need to get worked up about it."  _Flavio exclaimed, not wanting to try to provoke her early in the morning. The two stand around for a little bit, taking in the busy streets of High Lagaard, before Hibiki soon placed her hands on the railing._

"I pray that thither must be some way to rid myself of these terrible nightmares..."  _She sighed, resting her chin on her hand to continue seeing the people walk by her and Flavio. The survivalist turned and patted her back in assurance._

"I’m sure there must be something, Hibiki. You can bet that we’ll help you find it."  _He chirped, placing his hand back on the railing he previously had it rest on._

_The hooded girl couldn't help but continue to think about the nightmare she had. It wasn't something she wanted to think back upon, but given the fact she had nearly an entire week with nothing but nightmares, she feels as if there might be a bigger meaning than having it merely be a coincidence of her past memories coming back to haunt her._

"Thither must be some meaning to these nightmares I hast."  _Hibiki began, feeling Flavio's eyes gaze at her._ "Hm? How so?"

_Hibiki raised her head to face the Survivalist._  "The first nightmare hadst me in a castle of sorts, running from the guards thither. Then, the second wast of the accursed abuse I suffered through."  _She discussed, starting to feel rather confident in explaining her nightmares to Flavio._

"The third wast seeing two boys taking mine lodging in the abuse, getting slapped or whipped. Fourth time wast all filled with nothing but a mysterious voice speaking to me. Then, the fifth time, a Hexer and two boys from mine third nightmare wast trying to flee..."  _Hibiki continued, as Flavio nodded in understanding._

"I’m not sure whether this must be a valorous or lacking valor sign of things to come. What doth thee bethink?"  _Flavio placed a hand on his chin, trying to think of what the common signs were in her nightmares._

_The only remotely similar matching portion is the two boys Hibiki mentions, but even then, if what she said about them trying to think is true, it just adds to the whole confusion factor._  "I’m not sure what to think of it."  _Flavio sighed._  "Hard to really tell the upcoming events from dreams."

"Dreams art most mysterious, aren’t they?"  _Hibiki sighed, shrugging her shoulders as she went back to observing the people nearby._ "They sure are, Hibiki."  _Flavio responded, before hearing something bark at them, turning to see a blue wolf coming right at them._

"Whoa, that wolf’s coming in fast! Hit the deck!"  _Flavio yelped, jumping over the railing and landing on the other side._

"Hm?"  _Hibiki turned to the sound of approaching footsteps, seeing the blue wolf Flavio spoke of. It slowly comes to a halt, panting as it stares at Hibiki, tilting its head._

_Was... a beast just randomly running up to Hibiki for no reason? She knelt down to see the collar it wore._  "Thou name is Tyro, eh?"  _Hibiki inquired upon seeing the name tag._

_Tyro barks before sniffing her arm a couple of times, before licking it, startling Hibiki for a moment. Flavio looks over and sighs, as a smile forms on his face from seeing the wolf lick Hibiki's arm._

"I guess this Tyro seems to like you, Hibiki."  _Flavio hummed, walking his way back up to the inn's front porch._ _Hibiki was rather confused at the event happening before her._  "But I don’t recall owning a blue wolf-"

_Tyro barked, interrupting Hibiki as it sat down, wagging its tail. Hibiki notices a envelope lodged between Tyro's fur and its collar, taking the envelope out from between the gap, opening it as she stood up._ "Most peculiar..."  _She hummed, taking the paper out of the envelope._

"Or I guess it can be delivering something to you. Either works, I guess."  _Flavio shrugged, scratching the back of his head as leaned against the wall._

_The paper held in her hand was a rather basic sketch of what Hibiki looked like. Was it from someone she knew? Nobody else knew about a Forest Folk in High Lagaard, so that wasn't possible..._

_She noticed something out of the corner of her eye... Writing. It was a lot tinier compared to the sketch, but she went through the effort to try and read it anyways._

"To whomever it may concern,"  _Hibiki began to read the writing, as Flavio to her in curiosity, walking over to her and started to see if he can see the tiny writing that was printed on the paper._  "Me and my brother are looking for this woman who is likely around High Lagaard. As of the delivery of this message, we have escaped from a castle near High Lagaard, and are awaiting news of seeing our sister. Hell, we might be able to see her if we're lucky." 

_Hibiki's eyes soon caught of the writer of the message, gasping in surprise._  "It can’t be..."  _Flavio looked at her, a little lost on trying to read the tiny message._ "If what this writing sayeth is true, then I might see those two after all!"  _Hibiki pondered, placing the paper in her pocket as she turned to Tyro and knelt to its height, placing a hand on its head._

"Does thou knoweth whither those gents might be in High Lagaard, Tyro? I asketh that thou must taketh me to those men!"  _Hibiki declared, removing her hand from the wolf's head as it begins to sniff around, catching on to their scent rather quick. Tyro barks, and begins to make its way towards its destination, as Hibiki soon follows the blue wolf._

_Flavio gasps in surprise, rather astonished to see the Forest Folk blindly follow the wolf._  "Where are you going? Hibiki!"  _Despite Flavio trying to call out to her, Hibiki ignored the survivalists' call to her, letting out a sigh as he scratched his head._

"Ugh... Well, so much for wanting to get to know her a bit better. I suppose it’s better to follow along, just to be sure she stays safe."  _Flavio mumbled to himself, thankful he brought his bow and arrows to be on the safe side. He soon begins to follow Hibiki and Tyro, unsure where they might be going in High Lagaard._

_But he's sure they'll be fine. After all, if they happen to run into Korey, all the better... Maybe even running into the man who made the letter, if they're lucky enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Axel, Hamza (Mentioned), and Lynus belong to TheShatteredRose.


End file.
